KINSHASA, Congo—Traffic in this African city is a daily death-defying battle between humans and robots. Sometimes the robots lose.

Kinshasa and other cities in Congo rolled out traffic robots in recent years to try to manage some of the world’s most chaotic intersections. Equipped with red-and-green lights and movable arms to direct vehicles, this small brigade of tin men watches over thoroughfares with six or more lanes, where cars, trucks and motorcycles skirmish for right of way.